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Jai GuruDev

I recently watched the documentary One Track Heart about Krishna Das and his guru, Neem Karoli Baba (usually called Maharaj-ji by his devotees). I highly recommend watching it if you haven't seen it yet, for it made me laugh, but more importantly, it made me cry. You can order it off of his website (or I think you can even get it on Netflix). The movie ended with the Chant, "Jai Gurudev" which I've been repeating regularly as a mantra. It's quite a beautiful song. Listen

You'll probably recognize this chant from the famous Beatles song, Across the Universe. “Jai Guru Deva. Nothing’s going to change my world.” Give a Listen!

"Jai" simply translates as victory. The word is used as a prefix for deities like Jai Ganesha or Jai Hanuman exclaiming victory to that aspect of consciousness that these figures represent.. It's also found in the pranayama, ujjai, which translates as the victorious breath. The other half of the chant, "Guru" is actually broken down into two syllables. "Gu" which means darkness or shadow, and "ru" which is something that takes away the shadow. "Dev" (also deva or devi) often refers to a deity or guru, but literally translates as shining or to shine.

Essentially, in a distillation of translations, this chant means "victory to your greatness" or "may your light shine." It's a way of saying, "give me the grace to live from my higher mind that which cultivates and turns on my light."

I've been using this chant when making decisions asking, is this thought, word, action coming from the light of my higher consciousness? Or what would my higher self say/do?

Here’s to a beautiful autumn season. May you live in the brightness of your own light, and may your light ignite the light of others around you.